Pope Francis canonizes 800 Otranto 'martyrs' of Ottoman army

Otranto Castle

The new Pope Francis on Sunday canonized over 800 "Martyrs of Otranto"
as saints, the largest such action in the history of the Catholic
Church. At the same time, two Latin American nuns became saints.

The 1480 Battle of Otranto was ordered by Muslim Ottoman forces under
the command of Sultan Mehmet II, known as Mehmet the Conqueror. At
age 21, on May 29, 1453, Mehmet had led the successful capture of the
city of Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey), possibly the most
globally significant battle of the last millennium, as it ended the
Christian Byzantine Empire and began the Ottoman domination of the
entire region. In 1480, Mehmet acted to destroy the Roman Empire once
and for all by capturing Rome, and then all of Italy. Mehmet's armada
landed in Otranto in the "heel" of Italy's "boot" on July 29, 1480.
The citizens of Otranto, with the tales of horror of the fall of
Constantinople still fresh in their minds, realized that they were
vastly outnumbered, and surrendered. According to Catholic accounts,
the Ottomans segregated the women and children, who became slaves,
from the men. Some 800 men were ordered to convert to Islam. They
refused, and proclaimed that they would die for Christ. On August 14,
1480, the men were beaten and decapitated, one by one, in full view of
the others, and then put into a mass grave. According to Catholic
history, not only did they become martyrs, but their actions were a
miracle, because they also saved Rome from capture by the Ottomans,
since they forced a delay that gave the Italian troops in Rome time to
prepare. Mehmet the Conqueror died on May 3, 1481, and is thought to
have been poisoned.

Not surprisingly, parts of the Catholic accounts are disputed by
Muslim scholars, who describe the actions of Mehmet much more
charitably, both in Otranto and in Constantinople. Of significance
today is that Muslims view this mass canonization as a new anti-Islam
attack by the Catholics. And that may indeed have been the intention
of Francis' predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who formally
approved the canonization of the 800 -- and did so on the very last
day of his papacy, leaving the job to be completed by Pope
Francis. Catholic.com and Guardian (London)

Taiwan sends warships into South China Sea near Philippines

Taiwan on Sunday dispatched four warships to patrol waters in the
South China Sea near the Philippines, in response to public outrage
over the Thursday's shooting of a
Taiwanese fisherman by the Philippines coast guard, who claim that the
Taiwanese boat was threatening to ram them. Taiwan has issued an
ultimatum that unless the Philippines apologizes and provides
compensation for the victim's family, then Taiwan will refuse any
further work applications from Filipinos to work in Taiwan -- a
serious threat because of the Philippines' unemployment problem.

The dispute has increased nationalist tensions on both sides, and has
turned into a cyberwar. On Friday, hackers in each country began
attacking government sites in the other country. The cyberattacks are
increasing what are already fairly high tensions. AFP and GMA Network (Philippines)

Suicide rates increasing substantially among Boomers

Since 1999, there have been substantial increases in the suicide rates
of United States adults aged 35-64. The three most common suicide
mechanisms were firearms (i.e., penetrating injury or gunshot wound
from a weapon using a powder charge to fire a projectile), poisoning
(predominantly drug overdose), and suffocation (predominantly
hanging). The suicide rate for men aged 35-64 years increased 27.3%,
and the rate for women increased 31.5%. Among whites, the rate for
women increased 41.9%, and the rate for men increased 39.6%. Firearms
and suffocation were the most common mechanisms for men, whereas
poisoning and firearms were the most common mechanisms for women.
Possible contributing factors for the rise in suicide rates include
the recent economic downturn (historically, suicide rates tend to
correlate with business cycles, with higher rates observed during
times of economic hardship); a cohort effect, based on evidence that
the Boomer generation had unusually high suicide rates during their
adolescent years; and a rise in intentional overdoses associated with
the increase in availability of prescription opioids. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Millions of Chinese internet users vow not to commit suicide

In the last few days, millions of Chinese internet users have posted
online pledges not to commit suicide:

"I will never commit suicide. If I die unexpectedly,
I was killed by others and the police should investigate the
crime."

The pledges are actually an anti-government protest, following the
suspicious death of Yuan Liya, a young clothing store worker in
Beijing. The rumors are that she was gang-raped by security guards
and thrown off a high balcony, but police ruled the death a suicide.
Angry protesters demanded an investigation, but they were quickly
silenced by hordes of police. Deaths by "forced suicide" are thought
to be quite common in China, as police use the technique to silence
activists. BBC